Foreclosure Fraud Getting Attention Fron San Bernardino DA

In San Bernardino, California, the San Bernardino County Sun contains this blurb on the work of the local district attorney's office in its fight against foreclosure fraud:

• Foreclosure fraud is the [real estate fraud] unit's latest buzz, [lead deputy district attorney of the unit Larry] Roberts said. Foreclosed homeowners are claiming they paid $2,000, $3,000 or more to companies promising debtor relief, only to find they were stabbed in the back. From July 2007 to July 2008, the 10-person district attorney's unit received almost 460 formal complaints from residents across the county claiming they were burned by mortgage or foreclosure fraud. The suspects are based all over Southern California. That number could grow by leaps and bounds over the next year, but there's a fair chance Roberts' staff size will remain the same.

• A bill that would provide more funding to county real-estate fraud units statewide made it to Gov. Schwarzenegger's desk, but the state's budget impasse is getting the spotlight right now. Still, Roberts presses onward. "We're here to hurt offenders," he said. "We represent the interests of the people of the state of California."

For the story, see Fraud monsters.